Ancelotti ready for Inter battle

24 February 2010 07:49

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti believes his side will have to be at their very best if they are to beat Internazionale and progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
The Blues face Inter, who are coached by their former boss Jose Mourinho, in the first leg of their last-16 tie at the San Siro on Wednesday.
Former AC boss Ancelotti said: "I will respect Inter Milan like I always have in the past. We respect them, but to beat them we need to play at 100 per cent. But if they want to beat us they will also have to play at 100 per cent.
"We will find a solution but Ashley (Cole) and Yuri (Zhirkov) are to be missed. They are two very important players but (Juliano) Belletti is back in training and doing well.
"I respect Inter Milan fully. I understand how much Inter want to win this cup but we also want to win it.
"To be honest I am not interested in Inter Milan and their dressing room. I think the game will be very even with two strong teams and it will be a great battle.
"In football there are no surprises any more because we can watch every game on television. It is not like it was 20 years ago."